IMPACTASSETS 50™
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
ImpactAssets 50
An Annual Showcase of Impact Investment Fund Managers
Acumen Capital Partners LLC
Clean Technology, Alternative Energy & Climate Change
Sustainable Agriculture
Microfinance, low-income financial services & micro-insuranceFirm Overview
Acumen Capital Partners (ACP) leverages Acumen’s 20 years of investing in the world’s toughest markets to address the critical capital gaps for social enterprises on their journey to scale. ACP structures and manages funds that fill a critical gap that exists for social enterprises. An evolution of Acumen’s investment model, ACP manages funds supporting established, high-potential companies to catalyze scalable solutions that deliver social and financial returns. We want to help prove the viability of social enterprises and help the market of capital providers evolve so more capital will enter the sector—and, together, we can transform the lives of low-income people everywhere. Supported centrally, the ACP funds are independently managed with distinct investment theses. This profile highlights two ACP Funds, KawiSafi Ventures (KSV) and Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund (ARAF). Both fund teams are based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Years of Operation: 5 – 9 years
% of Capital from Top 3 Investors: 50% – 99%
ACP invests in social enterprises that can deliver social and financial returns to transform the lives of low-income people everywhere.
ARAF invests in early, and early growth, stage startups in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria, and Ghana with business models that help smallholder farmers adapt and become more resilient to climate change. ARAF invests in early-stage platform businesses that bridge the gaps in accessing critical information, affordable financing, modern inputs, and formal markets that keep smallholder farmers in poverty and unable to meet the rising demand for agricultural products. KawiSafi Fund I invests growth capital in emerging business models across the energy access ecosystem in Africa. We invest in both (1) companies that provide direct energy services and (2) companies that leverage technology to provide the hardware, software, and fintech infrastructure that enables universal energy access. KawiSafi Fund I invests in the distributed energy ecosystem to drive impact and returns in emerging market segments across the region.
Sector Experts: Both KawiSafi and ARAF are sector specific Funds which allows for specialized understanding of the technologies and business models within the energy and agriculture sectors, respectively. Strong Local Team: The funds are headquartered in Nairobi with a strong team based in the region. This has allowed the Company build deep market intelligence and develop a healthy pipeline of opportunities. The investment thesis has been strengthened over time as the team is well-positioned to identify the most compelling emerging opportunities. Deal Leadership: The Fund leads transactions with a rigorous negotiation strategy backed by insights from direct exposure to ~200 private investment opportunities. Hands-on Portfolio Support: The firm will take on Board positions to drive strategy and provide portfolio support in recruitment, sales conversion, etc. as well as additional grant support through the Technical Assistance Facilities.
Investment Example
KawiSafi Fund I invested in d.light, the leading residential PAYGO company, in 2016. The investment supported the expansion of the Company's product portfolio as well as drove further geographical expansion. The investment has helped the Company evolve into to an operationally and financially mature leader in the emerging market residential electrification segment. ARAF invested in SunCulture a Kenya-based solar irrigation company that designs, assembles, finances, and services solar-powered water pumps. To enable the affordability of the pumps, the company utilizes its Pay-As-You Grow platform. The company enables farmers to become climate resilient through increases in income and productivity using the pump.
Leadership and Team
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Amar Inamdar – Managing Director More Info
Amar is an investor, scientist and entrepreneur from East Africa. He brings over 25 years private sector experience of building markets and businesses in emerging economies. He is the Managing Director of KawiSafi Ventures – a private investment fund that is focused on energy access in Africa. He is an active Board representative on a diverse portfolio of technology-driven companies. Prior to leading KawiSafi, he managed a global investment portfolio of high-risk, high-impact projects for 10 years at the International Finance Corporation and the World Bank before joining the new business team at Royal Dutch Shell to drive growth in domestic African energy markets. |
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Marcus Watson – Investment Director More Info
Marcus is Investment Director at KawiSafi where he leads the team across investments, operations, and portfolio management. He has extensive experience in renewable energy across the region, having for the past decade advised governments, regulators, corporations, and private equity funds on policy and investments in the sector. Prior to KawiSafi, he was a Partner in Dalberg Advisors’ Nairobi office where he spearheaded Dalberg’s Africa energy & infrastructure practice. He has advised on $500 million in transactions and fund formations in the African off-grid energy sector. |
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Tamer El-Raghy – Managing Director More Info
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Financial Performance
Impact Performance
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Percentage of Total Assets Under
Management that are Impact Investments: |
100%
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KawiSafi embeds impact throughout its investment processes, screening companies by inherent impact (i.e., delivering their product/service achieves positive impact). The investments made by the Fund are primarily targeted at off grid populations across Africa with a focus on households earning less than the World Bank poverty line. We track key indicators for each portfolio investment, including the number of lives impacted from access to clean energy and the estimated tons of CO2 averted or avoided from conversion from kerosene. The fund purposefully identifies its goals with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (esp. Goal 7 and 13) and is an active participant in the Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) initiative.
KawiSafi actively applies Environmental, Social Governance (ESG) frameworks to: 1) identify risks and opportunities for ESG impact; screening and assessing these during diligence and agreeing on an ESG Action Plan at time of investment; 2) support its portfolio companies to develop and mature their approach to ESG, including through an annual review and assessment; 3) develop and improve its own ESG policy, monitoring and reporting framework to ensure best-in-class performance; and 4) stay consistent with global standards, including issuing an annual fund assurance statement.
Impact Tracking and Monitoring
Learn More
40 Worth St Suite 303, New York, NY 10013 USA
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